German MDs' OK Diagnosis of Savchenko Dubious

A couple of days ago Nadiya Savchenko, the Ukrainian army pilot and member of the European parliament who was kidnapped and imprisoned in a Russian jail, was examined by German and Russian doctors but their favorable conclusions are deemed dubious due to a diabolical Russian-German conspiracy.

Interfax quoted a Russian official as saying about the Ukrainian aviator: “A council of Russian doctors has once again examined the arrested Ukrainian military service member, Nadia Savchenko, and concluded that her health condition is satisfactory, says Kristina Belousova, a spokeswoman for the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN).”

Savchenko, 33, who appears in court in a white t-shirt emblazoned with large Tryzub, trident – the national symbol of Ukraine, has become the subject of a worldwide defense campaign, which includes variations of the Twitter hashtag #FreeSavchenko. She was captured by Russian troops in eastern Ukraine and has been illegally incarcerated in a Russian prison since July 2014. Savchenko has been on a hunger strike for more than 70 days and her lawyer and doctor fear that she may fall into a coma because her sugar level, blood pressure and body temperature are dangerously abnormal.

Concern about her welfare is rising, Halya Coynash of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (www.khpg.org) observed, because of the underhanded secrecy about her condition and the doubtful nature of the examining team’s conclusions. Coynash wrote that Vladimir Putin and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had reached a secret agreement to cover up Savchenko’s health. Historically, Russians and Germans are known for reaching secret pacts such as the infamous Ribbentrop-Molotov agreement that divided Europe between Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany at the start of World War Two.

“While Ukrainian doctors are refused permission to examine Nadiya Savchenko, Russia’s Penitentiary Service continues quoting anonymous ‘German doctors’ whose anonymity would seem to be part of a secret agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.  Since these ‘German doctors’ are reported to have agreed entirely with the conclusion of the Penitentiary Service and found Nadiya Savchenko’s state of health to be ‘satisfactory,’ this secrecy raises some very serious questions about Germany’s role in the ongoing detention of the Ukrainian MP and delegate of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,” Coynash wrote in her column on the group’s website.

Savchenko is demanding that she be examined by an international group of specialists, including a cardiologist, because she doesn’t have confidence in the doctors that checked her.

“Repeated attempts on Thursday afternoon (February 19) to gain confirmation or denial from the German Foreign Ministry of the assertions made by Deutsche Welle’s Russian Service were unfortunately unsuccessful.  DW states that the ‘German doctors’ were examined as part of an agreement behind the scenes in Minsk between Steinmeier and Putin.  No details are given since the Russian side demanded ‘total silence,’ however the Foreign Ministry has not confirmed the information issued earlier about Savchenko’s health.

“It remains, however, silent about the visit, which is the only examination by non-Russian doctors of Nadiya Savchenko whose condition after over two months on hunger strike must arouse grave concern. 

This is extraordinary given that Ukrainian doctors from the official Feofaniya Clinical Hospital were on Feb 18 refused permission to examine Savchenko,” Coynash continued.

Savchenko’s release was included as a prerequisite of the Minsk 2 accords that were to bring a ceasefire to Ukraine but Russia not only violated the ceasefire but also said it would not release her and the other political prisoners and prisoners of war.

“Western governments and PACE (Parliamentary Assembly and Council of Europe) officials have all repeatedly expressed ‘grave concern’ over Nadiya Savchenko’s hunger strike and detention.  They have been disappointingly silent in recent days over this first flagrant violation by Russia of the commitments made in the Minsk 2 agreement. 

“When this silence includes information of critical importance regarding Savchenko’s health, Germany’s insistence on ‘diplomatic solutions’ looks very hollow and suspect at best.

“Defense lawyer Nikolai Polozov reported on Thursday that Savchenko has refused to have any more glucose injections. He told Radio Liberty that the tubes they have inserted have led to an inflammation of the veins, making it impossible to insert any more. The prison staff proposes giving her some kind of ‘protein drink.’  She is refusing to take any food at all, and has stated clearly that she would view any attempt to force-feed her as a form of torture,” Coynash wrote.

At this time, the need for supportive, conscientious doctors to examine Savchenko is critical. Ultimately, she must be released from Russian illegitimate imprisonment.

The US Senate adopted on February 14 a resolution demanding that Moscow immediately release Savchenko. The resolution condemns the Russia for unlawfully jailing Savchenko, calls on the US, Europe and international community to support efforts to free her and other illegally detained Ukrainian citizens, and expresses solidarity with the Ukrainian nation.

The UN Human Rights Office is reportedly preparing a separate appeal on behalf of Savchenko, noting that she has been on a hunger strike for 70 days and that her condition is deteriorating. It is to call on Russia to release her on humanitarian grounds.

“An international team of doctors is needed now, as well as clear and unequivocal reaction to Russia’s failure to comply with the Minsk 2 agreement,” Coynash concluded.

Savchenko’s case must be first on the global to-do list of humanitarian issues.

My interview with Halya Coynash about human rights will appear in a subsequent blog.

#FreeSavchenko (Support Nadiya and use it in your tweets)